Nilix wrote:
Kate Melb,

Hey whats this DYI Manage with Rent Wise? If you DIY manage doesn’t that exclude you from being able to use Land Lord Insurance? It must be a load of work, thinking about the places I rented back in the day, calling people about leaking taps etc.

Not at all Nilix (my favourite Voyager character). No insurance exclusion…[Read more]

Bentleigh East is ridiculously overpriced for a suburb without a train line within walking distance, or any good schools (only a handful of streets are in the McKinnon Secondary College zone).

Try Clayton, Carnegie, Murrumbeena and Hughesdale along the Pakenham train line or Cheltenham, Moorabbin, Mentone and Highett along the Frankston train…[Read more]

pijoko wrote:
I imagine, since I paid the property manager to find the tennant, I have every right to not renew the property management contract, and continue managing the property myself with the existing tennant.

You’re absolutely right. Check the management agreement to see if there is a notice period for terminating the contract after the…[Read more]

DWolfe wrote:
Due dilligence is about making sure what you are buying is a good investment.

So true, Mr Wolfe (Pulp Fiction flashback!), but it’s not only about that. Adopting a more selective, patient approach has delivered me steady capital growth, high depreciables and long-term, happy tenants.

To me, due diligence involves taking into…[Read more]

sonyasal wrote:
I have just looked at a property that i personally don't find very appealing, however, it's proximity to all facilities is excellent and the rental facts and figures show a great return and about 2% vacancy rate over a very long time frame (10 plus years.) Needs some work done to it, just doing the number crunching to determine…[Read more]

I use Washington Brown for the QS report and Rentwise to convert it into my tax return. Both are Australia-wide.

AndrewH wrote:
he says he will do all the paper work from the bank, solicitors, purchase of the property , looking after the property, rental tentants, insurance Etc. He works with around 8 people, who have been in the investing industry for a long time now. He says one of his people even rubs shoulders with the councils to determine plans for…[Read more]

cinooo wrote:
Also unrelated to this topic, I have been looking at the type of insurance I will require. If I am using this an investment property and will be lending it out, is Landlords insurance the only type of insurance I need? Does anyone have any recommendations of who to go with?

Most competitive and broad coverage I’ve found is with…[Read more]

Commercial properties have relatively high returns (in a healthy market) and provide steady returns, but the capital growth is poor. If you’re looking to make money through capital growth and by drawing on the growth in equity, I suggest investing in residential property.

Anything within 10km of the Melbourne CBD is solid gold because of the…[Read more]

Very skeptical about this – properties can look great on paper, but later on you can find yourself without a tenant for long periods or with no capital growth after a year because you didn’t do proper due diligence.

There is no substitute for using your eyes, ears and common sense. For example, when you visit a potential investment:

* Look at…[Read more]

If you’re interested in a high return (average 7% p.a. compared with 4% average for normal residential) then yes, they’re very good. But if it’s capital growth you’re after, steer well clear.